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This is a great entry from our local friends at CrossFit Verve (CrossFitVerve.com…if you have not checked them out yet, do it!) This is especially important for us (Alpine) as a new community to truly define why CrossFit works. Hopefully after reading this you will have a better response when your friends ask, “What is CrossFit?” You can respond with “Its constantly varied functional movement executed at high intensity and increases work capacity over broad time and modal domains, duhhh” and then elaborate after a blank stare…

Why does CrossFit work?

The easiest answer is that it works because it is empirically driven. It’s evidence based, if something is proven not to work, we change it. In that way, CrossFit continues to evolve with the discovery of best practices. CrossFit doesn’t say our way is the best and only way, it says here is what we have found works. Try it for yourself and let us know your results.

CrossFit also works because it has a plan. Have you ever heard, “If you don’t have a plan, you plan to fail?” Fitness works the same way and CrossFit’s plan is to increase work capacity across broad time and modal domains.

There has never been a clear definition of fitness before this. If you look up the definition of fitness it states being in good shape or physical condition. What does that mean? It’s hogwash. If you had to explain that to an alien, their first question would be, “what is good shape or physical condition?” Now how do you answer that? “You know, good shape”. Then the alien thinks; like a star, circle or a square shape? You can see that is not a very scientific definition. In order for something to be scientific it must be measurable, observable, and repeatable. “Good shape” is not any of these. However, increased work capacity across broad time and modal domains is very much measurable, observable and repeatable. Why do you think we do all those benchmark workouts? Why do you think we harp on you to log your loads and times? We want to know what your work capacity is, whether it has increased or decreased and if you can do more faster.

Let’s break this plan down. Increased work capacity is the ability to do more work; lift heavier things, run faster, hit harder. Across broad time; now that is why we want “Fran” to be short and intense and “Murf” to be longer and enduring. If all of your workouts took 20 minutes or longer, you wouldn’t be stressing all your oxygen pathways. We want capacity in short, medium and long distances. Modal domains, this means we want it all. We want to be able to run 10 miles and back squat 300lbs. We want to be able to do anything that comes our way, ANYTHING!

So the next time someone asks you why CrossFit works, tell them it is because CrossFit has increased your work capacity across broad and modal domains. Can they say that about their fitness program?